Tracyringo

I still have GERD and take a PPI twice daily with the RNY which sucks but my esophagitis when last checked went from a grade D to a grade A which is really good.
I also have no problems with keeping my weight stable. The VSG was great but I struggled in maintenance keeping it steady. My weight fluctuated a lot more and the lowest I got was 164.8 for a day, lol. I could usually maintain 175ish but was constantly stressed out. I would say I ate around 1000-1200 calories to stay in that range and under 1000 to stay in high 160s. RNY has been much easier to maintain my weight. I now weigh 154 and my weight fluctuates between 152-155. I have no problems or stress maintaining it !! This makes my daily life much easier because I dont constantly think about it anymore. I would even say I eat more now then what I did with VSG which sounds crazy but its true.
I have dumping syndrome which keeps me away from heavy carbs and sugar. I do eat these things in small amounts and usually dont have any problems but I have to be very careful of when and how I am eating those things.
I am less interested in food with RNY. Some days its a chore to eat ! I think this comes down to not being able to eat whatever I want when I want so if the food isnt great I really dont want to bother with it. My mind set has become totally different in regards on how I view and look at food.
I am 14 months out from my revision and 4 years from my VSG.
Good luck to you !

I have arthritis that took out both my hips in my early 40s. I have it in my back and joints too. I get steroid injections in back and neck when I absolutely have to. I cannot take pain meds except for tylenol and when its really bad I get norco. I also had the sleeve done but revised to RNY last year because I ended up with really bad GERD that gave me esophagitis D. Good luck

I didnt have to do anything. No 2 week diet before surgery either.

I am going to lose my mind. I've waited all year for surgery. Not just bariatric, but 2 additional procedures that must be done to prevent further serious problems. They have cancelled and rescheduled my surgery 3 times already. Anyone in the US knows insurance starts over (usually) on Jan. 1, and now, one week away from surgery, they just called me to let me know they may cancel me again, just 16 days from year's end. I have not been able to get a job, go on vacays, see family, or Celebrate the holidays, all because I've been "on call" for this surgery. In fact, I was supposed to have a much lesser surgical procedure done elsewhere that could easily have been accomplished as far back as last summer, but this bari program doesn't commit to, and isn't accountable for, any obligations or schedule. This is ruining my entire life, and if they cancel again, I don't think I will be able to get it done. They've already charged over $40K in gross charges without one iota of actual health care to improve any medical condition whatsoever. It's all been unnecessary procedures, tests, appointments, etc. I'm wondering how other people can get health care at the drop of a hat, especially if they're in the hospital because they have not gotten a Covid vaccine, but the rest of us, who are personally paying the entire year thousands and thousands of dollars for insurance premiums and copays and coinsurance and deductibles in order to guarantee medical access, are denied. Spoiler: It's us idiots responsible enough to have insurance that are keeping the medical world afloat.
I'm just waiting for the class action lawsuits to start. If this isn't discrimination, I don't know what is. In the US, we literally have governors and mayors calling the shots as opposed to medical experts. It's all political. Since when in the free world do janky politicians decide who gets care and who does not? I am utterly disgusted.

Thank you so much for this post. I'm planning on a sleeve to RNY revision right after the first of the year. I was wondering if I'd lose some of my regain (45 lbs), I have severe reflux and a hiatial hernia. If I can lose some weight on top of hopefully fixing the reflux and non-cardiac heart pain from the hernia, it will be a great 2022!! I am with you, dumping and not worrying about regain, at least not much, is worth the trade off!! Again, thank you. If you have any helpful hints about eating/getting through the first couple of months, I'd appreciate it. I cannot imagine eating baby food. What Protein did you find easy to get down the first two weeks? Again, thank you!

17 months post op. Yes I still get sick. I have figured out somethings that will get me but like you said one time for something is okay and then the next time its not oaky. I ended up losing down to 142 from 180 after revision. I pretty much sit at 148. I dont worry about regain anymore which is good. I dont mind the trade off really, it keeps me in check. It does get better the farther out you get just listen to your body. Over eating makes me sick too and in the beginning I could not feel a thing until it was too late and I was already sick. I really have to be careful.

I had this same issue and was revised 15 months ago. My esophagitis is and A from a D now, but I STILL have GERD and am on the same PPI (dexilant 60mg) daily. I am an oddball as it seems.

The pain and all that comes with this revision will pass and you are going to feel great ! It just takes awhile.

I was told to expect at least 20 lbs and I lost 25lbs. I have a friend who revised after not losing all of her weight with VSG and she went on to lose 70lbs I think. As long as you follow the plan after surgery you will lose the weight. Good luck to you !!

I disagree on losing less weight 2nd time around. It may be harder but if you follow the rules you will lose the weight. Example
I weighed 296 day of surgery VSG I lost 14 lbs first month.
I weighed 180 day of surgery RNY I lost 12 lbs first month !!!!!
There is 116 lbs difference in starting weight for those 2 surgeries and yet 2 lb difference in weight loss.

17 months post op. Yes I still get sick. I have figured out somethings that will get me but like you said one time for something is okay and then the next time its not oaky. I ended up losing down to 142 from 180 after revision. I pretty much sit at 148. I dont worry about regain anymore which is good. I dont mind the trade off really, it keeps me in check. It does get better the farther out you get just listen to your body. Over eating makes me sick too and in the beginning I could not feel a thing until it was too late and I was already sick. I really have to be careful.

I dump A LOT ! I have got it down to eating too much aside from when I eat something and my body says NO. You just never know what will trigger it sometimes and you will figure out the things that do for sure as you go along in the process. The first 3 or 4 months are the worst, at least it was for me. It was also harder because I could not feel anything for about 6 months during the healing process and I dont have the restriction I had with VSG. The dumping keeps me in check for sure. Good luck

I also have RA (was diagnosed post-VSG) and am headed toward a revision for GERD in the next few months. My rheumatologist automatically put me on injectable methotrexate so i didn't have to deal with any GI side effects. It's really easy and cheap - I still have to draw it up myself from the vial with an insulin needle. But I have no side effects from it.
My bigger problem will probably be figuring out what i can take for as-needed pain relief...

Very typical and not talked about enough. However you can still feel fullness just of a different kind. Occasionally I can still feel the VSG restriction with very solid things. But now it’s mostly a lower abdomen heaviness and disinterest in the food that warns me when I’m done. Be patient and you’ll notice your signals eventually ❤️

Totally normal. I didn't feel restriction until I hit solid foods. I feel restriction like crazy now. I can be full from one piece of string cheese, or a small pickle... Etc. for hours. I think liquids and purees to some extent are like slider foods.

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Hello everyone. I was revised from VSG (Aug 2019) to RNY (Sept 2021). I was wondering if it is typical not to feel any restriction. I am 2.5 weeks post-op and I can easily consume 100g of Protein since the day I returned home from surgery which amazes me as I could not consume 100g of protein with VSG until 2 months post-op. When I get hungry, I eat and I stop when I feel I've had enough and I always measure/track so I know exactly how much I'm consuming. I never feel full. I just feel not hungry. It's difficult to explain. Is it typical not to feel restriction? When does restriction typically come or does it at all? Do you ever feel "full" as with VSG? TIA

As far as weight loss goes I constantly struggled to keep myself under 175 with the sleeve and I was only eating around 1000-1200 calories a day. I lost 131 lbs with sleeve and I stuck to the plan that first year. I revised because of GERD weighing in at 180 in 5/2020 I lost an additional 28 lbs and my weight is stable for once !!!! The best part about this bypass so far is my weight is stable and I dont struggle to stay at this weight which is 13lbs less then I got with VSG. Good luck to you.

Oddly enough I also never lie to strangers or casual acquaintances. It feels very low risk for me.

However the people I interact with often or know well is another story. I’ve learned to read the room.
If someone earnestly/ privately asks I usually just tell them. They are also so happy to see someone in person that is happy with the their results and doing well/not struggling.
But I’ve also had experiences where people very publicly/ loudly (nearly shouting across a room) ask how I lost weight. These interactions feel disingenuous and shaming so I don’t take them seriously. I usually tell these people the most complex set of layered diets and activities (Keto, fasting, glucose monitoring, cheat days, mercury retrograde, belly dancing, etc.) in great detail until they are satisfied. Those people can speculate but will never get the (whole) truth from me.
BTW Congratulations on your success!

First…. I 100% support YOUR decision to tell people about your surgery or not. I am in no way saying you should or should not….
I recently went on a trip and on this trip I had to show my old ID a few times. When I applied to TSA PreCheck I got a triple take when they looked at my passport photo vs the new me… so I explained… then on the trip I just decided to preemptively say “yeah I’ve lost a lot of weight since then” when they looked at my ID. Twice I had the person (quietly) ask “mind if I ask how? It’s none of my business I’m just wondering.” Both times I told them the truth, both times they said they’ve been thinking about it. Both times they smiled when I told them how stupidly amazing I feel and how I wish I had done this sooner. Both times we held up the line entirely too long while they and I both opened up about our weight issues and weight wishes. They were great moments and they wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t open up to them.
My wife does not want me to share my story with her side of the family and I’ve respected her wishes in that regard. I don’t personally care if they know but she has her reasons and that’s good enough for me. I totally understand that someone you know and will see repeatedly is an entirely different story….
But a stranger I’ll never see again? Someone who is like I was and clearly is looking for help? I’ll never lie to them. They deserve to know that traditional diets are damn hard if not impossible for most of us. I feel like it would make them feel worse about their own diet failures and their self esteem if I lied about how I did what I did. I’ll share my story with anyone going forward with joy, because I’m so happy about it and I want them to feel this way too. I gave both of those people info on this forum and my username. If you’re here reading this now, welcome. I’m glad you made the effort. Please don’t feel the need to introduce yourself just yet. Read, absorb, self reflect. But welcome nonetheless. I’m happy that you’re here.

Yes on the skin and no I dont feel like its worse then being overweight but it does suck after doing all the work.
You are never too old to feel better.

I don’t have a lot of loose skin - not handfuls but still good pinches & crumpling. I’ve decided not to go the surgery route. Like @NovaLuna, I can easily cover it with clothes without the need of any support underwear (& that includes in fitted clothing) & no one knows it’s there but me. I feel I sort of earned my loose skin. It’s a reminder every day to stick to my program.
Plus I tend to scar pretty badly. Rather have some loose skin than scars cause I’d be wanting to cover them anyway.
Actually you can see the little pinch of looseness at my waist in the first pxt. Standing up straight though it’s really nothing. So I’ve been pretty fortunate.
 

Like catwoman I had lots of excess skin after 140lbs weight loss. It was hide able in clothes, not so much out of clothes. I had surgery to have it removed from my abdomen and arms, and will have my thighs done next year. Even if I couldn’t have had plastic surgery the weight loss was worth it. I’d take loose skin any day over those 140lbs.

I lost over 200 lbs and had a TON of excess skin. I've since had it removed. It was easy to hide in clothes so no one knew it was there except for me and my husband, but I didn't like the way I looked naked or the way it slapped up against me when I exercised.
and no - it is NOT worse than weight loss. I would have taken that loose skin any day of the week over weighing almost 400 lbs again. ANY DAY.
here is a picture of me BEFORE I had the skin removed. Do you see it? Nope - easily hidden in the right clothes (long-ish slightly oversized shirt to cover the abdomenal skin, 3/4 length (or longer) sleeves to cover the batwing arms, and a very supportive bra).
and no, you are not too old. I am in my 60s.

Anyone who has lost a significant amount of weight is going to have at least SOME excess skin. The amount a person has depends on a bunch of different things such as your age (the elasticity of your skin tends to be better the younger you are and thus you're more likely to have less excess skin the younger you are), how long you've been obese, the amount you exercise/your exercise routine, the amount of weight you actually lose, etc. For me, I'm disabled, 34, and had been obese for 20+ years so after losing 210 pounds I have quite a lot of excess skin. However, I'd rather have that excess skin then the fat. I can easily hide the skin beneath clothes, so while I know it's there, everyone else doesn't.
In the end, the choice for surgery is very much a personal choice. Just weigh the pro's and con's and do your research. Whatever choice you make is one that you're making for YOU, so make sure it's something that makes you happy.

I was also told by my surgeon that people typically lose more weight after bypass surgery than with the sleeve. It seems that the difference must be in adherence to the program post surgery. Maybe people with the bypass are more likely to follow the program strictly because so many of them suffer when they stray and that discomfort doesn’t diminish much over time. Whereas those with the sleeve have to form good habits with less of a threat of immediate consequences. I know that was the case for me. I lost more than 120 pounds post VSG and then gained back 60 over the next few years. That’s when I realized that I had to go back to strict adherence to the program. The reduction in the volume of daily food from pre-surgery days was not enough to keep me from regaining. Healthy food choices mattered just as much. I am now below my target weight by quite a bit and need to put on some muscle to look and feel better.